An elderly couple gathers their four adult children and grandchildren for Christmas at their home in Sulmona. When they announce some shocking news, the festive evening erupts into chaos—exposing buried resentments and threatening to tear the family apart.

Twinkling with jewel-toned tinsel, a provincial Italian apartment comes alive with the arrival of family in Mario Monicelli’s cult-classic black comedy. The serenity of snowfall and churchgoing is no match for the unholy noise of squabbling in this film that captures the risible chaos of Christmas.